In meat packing houses where animal carcasses are cut into halves, quarters or other portions, it has been the practice to use portable, motorized saws to saw through the bone as well as the meat.
It is important in such operations, in the event one carcass becomes contaminated or infected, that such contamination or infection not be transferred to other carcasses on which the same saw is subsequently used; and to preclude such occurance it has been required that the saw be sterilized by dipping it in hot water between carcasses. Pursuant to this requirement the saw operator has followed the procedure of dipping his saw in water having a temperature of at least 180.degree. F. after he has used the saw to sever each carcass and before he again uses the saw to sever another carcass. To do this, the operator must swing his saw about from his work and take the time and trouble to dip the saw in the hot water and again swing it back into position hopefully before the next carcass comes to his position. Further, the hot water in which he dips his saw receives debris from the saw, and even though the water be at sterilizing temperature the saw when it is dipped may come into contact with the debris from prior carcasses.
We have sought methods for sanitizing the saws in such operations which methods are easier to perform and more effective for sanitizing purposes, and we have sought apparatus for carrying out such improved methods.
Further, we recognize that for safety sake it is necessary that the circular saw blades used for such purpose have suitable guards, and that such guards must also be sterilized as well as the saw blades themselves.